Helping Hands
by The Son of Logan and Ororo
Summary: Logan is hurting and it's something that his healing factor can't fix. But then Ororo comes along and knows just what to do.


Helping Hands  
  
I do not own any of the characters of X-Men: Evolution. They all belong to Marvel and all of the respective companies that are associated with the show.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Ororo Monroe was exiting the kitchen when she literally ran into Logan. The two things odd about this occuring was the fact that Logan had apparently not heard her walking to the door, and the fact that he was in his battle uniform, sans mask, while she was in her civilian clothes.  
  
"Oh, Logan. You startled me." she exclaimed.  
  
"Sorry." he replied in a tired voice.  
  
"How is Kurt doing?" she inquired.  
  
"He's fine, just asleep. He finally collapsed about five minutes ago. Since he couldn't eat while I was helpin' him work off that damn caffeine, Poindexter has him on a nutrition IV in the medlab. It should be all right until Elf wakes up next morning." he explained.  
  
"Well I did save you an extra large portion of dinner from tonight. You too definitely need to eat after today." she said turning back into the kitchen. Logan followed her, catching that scent mixture of sandalwood and vanilla that was constant around her. As she walked to the refrigerator, he walked to the kitchen table slower than he normally would. "We had lasagna tonight."  
  
"I hope that Icecube wasn't included in yer feast tonight."  
  
Ororo sighed as she pulled the Italian dish along with some garlic bread from the fridge. "Charles was the one who allowed him to join us. After being with you and Kurt in the Danger Room for eight hours, Charles believed that Bobby served his punishment and that he too needed to replenish his energy." She removed the foiled and started walking to the microwave.  
  
Logan growled. "I'm gettin' pretty sick and tired of his stupid pranks. One of these days, one of them is gonna go too far and somebody is gonna get hurt. And all he'll say is, 'It was just a joke.'" He grunted again. "I'm gonna make sure that coffee shop bans him from ever settin' a foot in there again."  
  
Beep beep beep went the microwave as Ororo set the timer to one minute. "Charles did scan his mind afterwards and there was no ill intent involved. Bobby simply thought that because of Kurt's metabolism, the only thing that would seem good to him would be that Super-Grande Triple-Strength Espresso."  
  
"Yeah, and look what happened when that crap finally got into Elf's system. The mother of all caffeine highs that lasted for thirteen hours. Elf wasn't stickin' to the walls, he was literally bouncin' off em. I'm just glad he agreed to a no active powers session in the Danger Room. Who knows how much trouble he would have caused if he got outside."  
  
She reached into the fridge to him one of his beers. "Well, what's done is done. We cannot change what has happened." She placed it in front of Logan.  
  
"Thanks 'Ro." he said grabbing the alcoholic beverage.  
  
Something didn't feel right as she watched him move. "Are you all right?"  
  
He swallowed his mouthful of beer and answered. "I'm fine."  
  
The mistress of the elements merely closed her eyes and shook her head slightly. "You have never been able to lie to me Logan. It is not wise to try doing so now."  
  
"I'm just tired. I've been with Elf all day and I haven't eaten, that's all."  
  
"No, it's something more. One thing you taught in your self-defense classes was 'Always be aware of you surroundings.' I am an excellent person watcher Logan. I know how you move when you truly are at a hundred percent. You are not moving like that now." Ding went the microwave.  
  
"I'm just sore a bit and I was walkin' off a cramp comin' here. No big deal." he said as she placed his dinner in front of him. "I'm gonna eat this, go take a hot shower, and then try ta get enough sleep. I'll be fine in the mornin'"  
  
"I do hope so." Ororo walked back to the fridge and got out two more of Logan's beers. She placed them on the table within easy reach of him. "Enjoy your dinner Logan and good night."  
  
"Thanks 'Ro. Same to ya."  
  
She looked at him one last time and gave him a smile before leaving to get ready for bed.  
  
He sat the chewing a bite of the lasanga thinking how great it tasted. Just the right amount of meat and spices. The garlic bread not too overloaded on garlic. Even how she got him a beer when he really needed one. 'She's right.' he thought. 'She is good at watchin' people.'  
  
After he finished his dinner, he walked up the stairs to the bathroom. As he cleared the top, Ororo walked out of the forementioned room. As she stood there in her bathrobe, she noticed him.  
  
"There should be plenty of hot water left for you Logan. Good night again."  
  
"Thanks again. Night."  
  
She glanced over her shoulder as she walked to her bedroom and watched him near the bathroom door. She could tell that it was more than just a bit of soreness and a single cramp. He was definitely in pain. Though he was doing a good job of hiding it, she still noticed the differences. 'I really should do something for him.' she thought. 'But what?'. Then she remembered what she does for cramps and sore muscles. Ororo hoped that Logan would allow her to help rather than try to be 'Mister Indepenent' and let his body ache.  
  
After about ten minutes, she heard the faint sound of the shower stop from her room. She went to her dresser and got out a modest set of pajamas and put them on. Then she went to her bed and got on her knees, putting her hand under the bed. She grabbed her massager and pulled it out. It was a wonderful piece of technology. Sonic vibration pulse with optional heat to really get into deep tissue cramps. Sure it weighed six pounds and was the size of a mini vacuum, but when your back ached as bad as Ororo's did after extended flights, it more than made up for it's awkardness. She scooped up the dangling cord and left her room heading stright towards Logan's.  
  
Logan just finished pulling his sweatshirt over his head when there was a knock at his door. He tucked the shirt into the black sweatpants he was wearing and walked over to the door. The sight of Ororo in light blue pajamas and holding some bulky gray thing with a long cord greeted him.  
  
"Whatcha want 'Ro?"  
  
"Logan, when I said that I was good at observing people, I truly meant it. Try as you might, you couldn't hide how much pain you were in as you walked into the bathroom. I know that is much more than a cramp and soreness."  
  
"'Ro, I..."  
  
She interrupted him. "Logan, I do not like to see my friends in any pain what so ever. Physical or mental. I know that you like to handle things alone, but please believe me that my massager is definitely worth a bit of humbleness. Your healing factor will probably take care of everything while you sleep, but I doubt that you will be able to get to sleep soon if you are in pain."  
  
Logan sighed. There was no foolin' this woman. "No, my healin' factor doesn't do squat against soreness. Just actual wounds and keeping me from gettin' sick. I just have ta deal with cramps and that stuff. Ya win. I'll use yer gadget." He held out his right hand.  
  
She just shook her head to that. "No, I'll work on you."  
  
He blinked. "What?"  
  
"I have had plenty of experience giving massages because my father sometimes got lower back pain. It has been a while but I definitely remember how to properly work a muscle other than one of my own, and keep it from being painful."  
  
"Look 'Ro, ya don't have to do that."  
  
"Actually I believe that I do. I don't want you simply putting my massager off to the side and not using it. I want to see with my own eyes that you are willing to listen to me in a situation other that on the battlefield." She lowered her voice ever so slightly, but the added concern in her words was defintiely detectable. "I have already said I do not like those I know to be in pain."  
  
When he heard that, he dropped the majority of his masculine pride. "All right." he said with a sigh. "Come on in." He moved to one side and allowed her access to his room. As she walked past him, he got another strong whiff of her sandalwood body lotion and her vanilla shampoo.  
  
Ororo turned around and looked at Logan. "Lie on your bed face down. I'll work on your calves first. Then your thighs, lower back, upper back, neck, and then your arms."  
  
"Whatever. Ye're the expert." He didn't hide his tiredness from her this time. What would be the point of doing that?  
  
She subconsciously winced when she took in how pain he was in. And the reason was for Kurt. As much as Logan tried to keep others from getting close to him, it was definitely obvious that he had soft spots for Kurt, Kitty, and Rogue. She then started to think about Evan. It still hurt her a lot when she would remember watching him walk away with the Morlocks. The next time she saw him, she was going to hug him so hard that it would probably squeeze out all of his excess calcium and even then she wouldn't let go.  
  
"Ya gonna start?"  
  
His question snapped her out of her train of thought. She walked to the small night stand next to his bed. His lamp wasn't on anyways so she unplugged it and plugged the massager into the open outlet. She sat down at the foot of his bed near his left calf. "Now this might be painful at first and then it will leave you feeling very itchy, but afterwards, you will feel a whole lot better. I promise."  
  
"I believe ya."  
  
She moved the power switch to low and a small rumbling, very close to a cat's purr, filled the ears of the two room occupants. Ororo brought the vibrating heads of the machine down onto the sweatpants clathed left calf of Logan.  
  
The sensation of the sonic vibrations plunging into his muscles was such an odd one for Logan. On one hand, because of his soreness, it hurt a lot. But on the other hand, it tickled somewhat too. He winced and also tensed his body.  
  
"You must relax. It will hurt a lot more of you do not relax. Have I ever lied to you?"  
  
"No." he said through clenched teeth. Just to prove that he can get over this, he added, "And I don't think ya should start now."  
  
Ororo smiled at that. Her ministrations to his calf went on for another five minutes and then she switched over to his other calf. This was interrupted when he shifted in his bed and brought his left knee up close to his chest as he reached to his now massaged calf with his left hand and scratched it. He let out a small growl. "That's why I hate usin' those things."  
  
"Yes. I know how annoying the itching can be, but once it stops, you definitely feel better in your calf."  
  
Logan stopped scratching and straightened out his body. He tensed again once she brought the massager down onto his right calf, but was eventually able to relax it. When she was finished, he scratched that part of his body too. Ten minutes, and two thighs later, she stopped.  
  
Logan shifted and looked at her. "Why ya stop?"  
  
"My hands are also itching from holding the massager so I am going to work on your back using my hands."  
  
He shifted even more and was now laying on his right side. "Ya don't havta do that 'Ro. Thanks for working on my legs and all but..."  
  
"But nothing. You are still in pain. Besides, it has been a long time since I have actually done a hands on massage. I enjoyed doing them for my father. It made me feel good that I was making somebody else feel good."  
  
He could tell from the look in her eyes that she was needing to do this emotionally as much as he needed it physically. He laid back down resting his right cheek on his pillow. He felt the heels of her palms make a gentle pressure on his lower back. The sensation of her moving her hands in soft motions on his skin did make him tense at first, but she always had a soothing, calming nature that seemed to radiate from her. He relaxed soon after she began.  
  
She felt him relax and smiled when she felt a sigh of contentment rumble softly from his chest. She had always enjoyed using her hands on all sorts of things. Cooking, her greenhouse, some simple crafts. Even though she could attack an enemy or defend herself from a distance, she also had a good knowledge of hand-to-hand combat skills. Her hands could severely harm somebody, but right now she was doing what she enjoyed the most. Helping somebody. And not just anybody, but a good friend.  
  
Though right now she was turning that thought over and over in her mind, looking at it in new perspectives. Logan did something for her that he rarely did. Drop his defenses and let her get close to him, and not just physically. He admitted to being in pain to her, where as if it was anybody else, such as Charles or Hank, Logan would have said he was fine until his dying breath. He gave up being the invincible, mysterious loner for a blue furred boy who's mother is one of their sworn enemy. His skeleton maybe covered the hardest material known to the universe, but his heart was pure gold, and his soul was like a diamond. Multi-faceted. You look at it one way and it distorts your perception and makes you look at life in another direction. She had worked up to his shoulders and decided it was time to work on his arms.  
  
"Logan?" she asked softly. "Logan?" It was then that she noticed that even though his eyes were still closed, he didn't have that grimace from the pain on his face anymore. He actually had a look of contentment on his face. 'He is asleep.' She knew that he almost constantly had nightmares from whatever had happened to him long ago. 'I hope that they stay away from now on. Or at least for tonight. He deserves that much.' She got up and unplugged the massager and plugged the lamp back in. Ororo looked down at the sleeping male. It was then that she got a crazy impulse. She bent down and brought her face very close to his own. Some of her long white hair spilled over her shoulder and onto his face. He didn't even flinch. That was a sure sign he was definitely in a deep sleep since normally something with half that force would have woken him up. She whispered into his ear, "Good night Logan. May you finally have a peaceful sleep." She lowered even more and placed a soft, gentle kiss on his cheek. Everyone needed a kiss on the cheek goodnight everynow and then, and Logan was no exception. She gathered the long cord into her hands once again and as quietly as she could, walked to his door and then out of it.  
  
When the door gave one final click signalling that it was latched, Logan opened his left eye and looked toward the door. "You too Goddess." he said to nobody as he took in one more deep breath of sandalwood and vanilla before he closed his eye and drifted off to a sleep where the first time in a long time, the nightmares did not come.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Man that felt good to write. Got the inspiration for this when I was working on my own lower back thinking I should just go try a massuese. I then remembered that when I was younger, I used to work on my dad's sore back when he was through working for the day. Hope ya'll get to enjoy one really good massage at least once in your lives. Makes ya feel like 1,000,000 bucks. (Or whatever the equivalent to that is whereever you live.) 


End file.
